The ultimate reason for playing video games is to have fun. Whether it’s Sonic or Space Invaders, you’ll always play the game, have the time of your life and then decide to repeat it again.
On another note, a new class of games is emerging that allows players to make money from playing. This concept is called the “play-to-earn” concept and games such as Axie Infinity, and The Sandbox has been booming recently.
Similar to previous titles, these games feature complex economic ecosystems. In the Elite game, players have to travel from planet to planet and their credit goes up by buying and selling various commodities and weapons.
However, in-game currency was not valuable in the real world. In other games, like World of Warcraft, players traded in-game items and characters. But play-to-earn games introduced a whole new level for playing and earning. Hence, how do you play and earn in these games, what are the rules and where are we heading with this?
Axie Infinity is the leader in this new space, with over 350,000 daily active users. It’s a Pokémon-style game created by Sky Mavis, a Vietnamese developer.
The game goes around the eponymous creatures, which are called Axies. Players must collect small love potions (SLPs) to breed new ones and use them against online opponents.
SLPs are double-as-cryptocurrencies that can be purchased and sold on a cryptocurrency exchange. Top players reportedly earn SLP1,500 each day which is around US$435 from their payouts. To note that the price of SLPs to USD is not stable, but constantly changes. It has been definitely increasing since 2020, this pushes users to hang on to them or sell them while the going is good.
Axies can be traded in real life in the Axie Marketplace, where they can be exchanged for NFTs. Note that NFTs are digital collectibles existing online as blockchains, and are the main reason for taking the art world to next level.
Similar to Axies, other in-game items such as real estate, flowers, and barrels are also tradeable as NFTs. They can be bought and sold using ethereum, which is one of the top cryptocurrencies famous worldwide.
This is a huge improvement from previous titles where players had to go through auction sites to trade in-game assets. NFTs and blockchain technology make these transactions more secure and allow players to own the in-game items they’re trading.
To start a game with Axie Infinity, users need to buy or borrow three Axies. These are available from US$190, though the current average is around US$350. Higher levels Axies can be sold for a lot more than that.
The most expensive Axie ever sold was an Axie called “Angel”, which was purchased for over US$120,000 in 2020. A lot of in-game real estate was also sold for over US$1 million in 2021.
Another cryptocurrency that is associated with the game is called Axie Infinity shard. It has a voting power that can be used to gain a share of the game’s treasury. It is currently marked as the largest gaming cryptocurrency present in the market.
Beyond Axie Infinity
CryptoKitties is another game similar to Axie Infinity, where players buy and trade digital cats using ethereum. These animals are NFTs, and they generate wealth for the developers and the player community. The most expensive CryptoKitty was sold for around US$170,000.
Aside from being able to generate real income, play-to-earn game communities also allow players to meet and share wisdom with others. In Sandbox, for example, players are allowed to build things and trade them with one another as NFTs.
Through the game’s decentralized economy, players can sell digital real estate known as LAND to earn SAND. This method of earning SAND is very popular in the game, with record-breaking sales happening in February. The game stated that a record of 2,352 plots of LAND was sold for around US$2.8 million.
With the increasing popularity of the virtual world, many companies are looking to capitalize on this opportunity. For example, TheWalking Dead is getting ready to open its doors in the form of a zombie-themed world. These brands will surely attract more audience to the platform.
With the rise of play-to-earn games, it seems that they will become more prevalent in the future. With the ability to make money, these games could become even more successful communities in the future.
To know more about Axie Infinity, NFTs and protect yourself from legal complications, reach out to us and we will explain to you all what you need to know about Crypto and legal for Crypto.
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